Fighting a Losing Battle
by HannahMcBills
Summary: During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and get him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, no pairings atm!
1. Chapter 1

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and get him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, no pairings atm! **

**Chapter One**

Tony sighed; the heat coming off the smouldering metal in front of him was making lays of sweat dry on his face. Yinsen watched him with interest; taking a sip of the small amount of water they were allowed.

"You'll kill yourself before you get anywhere near finished." The scientist commented, Tony turned to glare at him but Yinsen gave him a small smile.

"Let me in the fucking room!" A voice growled, Tony raised an eyebrow; defiantly British... Someone else growled something but there was a loud clunk and the door was pushed open. A teenager, maybe 17 or 18, walked in with a large bottle of water elapsed in each hand. He placed the two heavy objects on a table near to the workstation and smiled at Tony. His eyes were bright green and even with his uniform cap on, Tony could see that he had black hair.

"Thank you..." Yinsen said slowly, taking in the boy's appearance.

"I'm sorry it isn't more. That's all they let me have." He growled. Tony plunged the metal into a barrel of dirt filled water and walked over the table; he picked up the water and swiftly drank half a bottle.

"Who are you?" The billionaire rasped, offering the water to Yinsen.

"Harry." Harry offered his hand but Tony didn't shake it.

"Harry who?"

"Just Harry." The young man smiled softly, as if he was remembering something that had happened a long time ago. He sat down heavily on a rock and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"How old are you?" queried Yinsen taking a long slurp of the water. Harry contemplated this for a moment before pulling his knees up to his chest and staring into space. "Fair enough... You have a right to keep your information to yourse-"

"I don't know." Harry admitted, he glanced over to the pair of geniuses' then back down to the floor.

"How can you not know?" Tony remarked. There was a loud shout from the hall, Harry stood, brushed off his trousers and walked out of the room, looking partially like a zombie.

X x X

Tony smiled as Harry entered the room, the teen had started coming every other day; much to the annoyance of his superiors.

"Harry." Yinsen greeted casually, Harry gave him a small smile but there was always something about Harry's smiles, something dark and lost... and sad.

"I hope you guys get out soon." Harry remarked, sitting down besides Yinsen in a position where he could see everything Tony was doing, something that neither Tony nor Yinsen ever allowed the other guards to do.

"You know?" Tony asked, turning to look at the black haired boy.

"I thought it was obvious, these idiots are rather thick." Harry noted, his accent more prominent than usual.

"I agree." The oldest of the three commented, standing up to help Tony put together a few more pieces of the metal suit that hung on the wall, out of the way of the view of the cameras. They only ever did it when Harry was there; using the logic that no one would think that they would do anything suspicious while Harry was there.

"How much long is it going to take?" Harry queried, Tony hummed thoughtfully then turned to him.

"Probably three or so weeks."

"Three?" Harry looked at the floor, an idea forming in his head. "If a supply team goes missing then they look for them for a month before giving up, it's protocol." Harry looked straight into Tony's eyes and the billionaire quickly pieces together Harry's plan.

"So you'll go on the supply mission-?" Tony began, but paused and looked at Harry expectantly for him to fill them in.

"I'll kill them and then find my way back to civilisation."

"They'll find you, and they'll kill you." Yinsen said darkly. Harry nodded and stood up, walking over to the door but before he opened it he turned to them.

"If you even meet someone called Hermione Granger or Ron Weasley, tell them..." He paused and pulled the handle down on the door. "Oh, they'll know."

X x X

Tony leaned back at his office chair, it'd been just over a month since he'd told the world he was Iron Man and he was thinking about where he was going to go with his life. He remembered all the stories about Captain America his dad had told him when he was a little kid but Tony had known real life heroes, people that had given their lives for him. He picked up the sketch pad on his desk and stared at it. He'd always been okay at drawing as you had to be to draw all of the components that the suit needed, but the drawing on this page was of two men, one young and one old, sitting on an old, lumpy seat in a cave. Both Harry and Yinsen had small smiles on their faces but no matter how hard he tried, Tony couldn't get them to look happy, it seemed that the picture knew both their sorrows and wouldn't let their eyes lie. Pepper knocked loudly on the door and Tony glanced up, she mouth '5 minutes' at him and then darted back up the stairs. Tony looked back down at the picture, Harry stared up at him, the kid must of not even been 19 yet he'd given his life for Tony and Yinsen... Tony pulled the page out of the book, carefully folded it and slid it into a secrete draw in his desk.

X x X

"I'm dying..." Tony whispered, a bottle of whiskey clutched in his sweaty hand as he stared at the picture of Yinsen and Harry, they stared back at him, not saying a word.

"Mr Stark?" Jarvis called, Tony sighed, he'd been sat down there for over a day with no food, just the picture he'd drawn and the drink to keep him company.

"I know Jarvis, I'll eat something now." The billionaire opened the glass door to the basement and forced himself to climb the steps; he microwaved some noodles then wandered back down the stairs. Pepper was stood at his desk, holding the picture in the light, it was the year anniversary of his escape and it was obvious that Pepper thought that that was why he was so upset.

"Who's this?" Pepper asked, pointing at Harry. Tony darted forward and snatched the picture from her, carefully folding it and holding it tight to his chest.

"It doesn't matter." Tony snapped, the alcohol making him angrier than he should have been.

"Okay! I was just asking, I have a meeting at 12 but I thought I'd drop by, is there anything I can do for you?" Pepper looked taken aback by Tony's fury.

"No, just- just get out..." Tony mumbled, placing the paper gently on his desk.

"Tony, are you sure you're oka-"

"GET OUT!"

X x X

"I've known men worth ten of you." Steve snapped, Tony managed to stop himself punching the man and kept his cool.

"I've known two men who were worth a million of you." Tony growled, his face darkening, even Fury looked confused at that.

"In Afghanistan?" Bruce asked, Tony slammed his fist into the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, he couldn't make a dent in the metal (unlike almost everyone else there) but the gesture itself was enough to make Steve take a step back.

"It doesn't mat-" The whole ship shook and Tony swore loudly.

"Put the suit on." Steve said quickly, running off. Tony paused for a few moments then took a deep breath and followed Steve into the corridor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, no pairings atm! **

**Chapter Two**

Tony wall falling back into the darkness, the suit felt too cold against his skin as he thought about what he'd just done; he'd saved the city, millions of people... He'd finally made sure that Yinsen and Harry's deaths were justified, that they hadn't just wasted their lives to keep him alive. Because Steve was right; before today he'd done almost everything for himself or his company... Jarvis had already died, Tony wasn't sure if he'd programed into the computer what death was but hopefully Pepper would keep him running. His eyes took in the huge explosion in front of him as the small amount of gravity that had followed him through space began to pull him back to Earth. A smile tugged slightly at his mouth and he let his eyes slide shut.

X x X

"Tony?" A familiar voice asked. Tony couldn't open his eyes as when he'd tried to open them a few moments earlier, the light had blinded him.

"Where am I?" Tony croaked, pain burning through his body. Now that he was focusing Tony could see the huge amount of light through his eyelids and was certain that he wouldn't be able to open them to see what was going on.

"You are in the Void." The voice informed him, a shaking hand touched Tony's chest; Tony tried to shrink away but his body as pretty unresponsive.

"Okay... What's the Void?" The hand traced up to his face and paused uncertainly, the fingers were rough and Tony was sure that there was some kind of dirt on them.

"It is the space between consciousness and unconsciousness, Earth and Asgard... Life and death." Tony felt the hand pull away but he could still sense someone close to him, someone familiar.

"So, limbo?" Tony guessed, once again trying to open his eyes to see who was with him but the light burned him.

"I guess so..." And finally Tony knew the voice, British and young.

"Harry?" Tony tried to reach out and grab Harry's arm but his body still felt like lead.

"We've met?" Harry sounded confused, Tony wanted so much to see his friend but he could do nothing.

"Yes, don't you remember?"

"I don't remember much, I... kind of hit my head." Harry admitted, his voice was different to how Tony remembered it; not as aged or as confused.

"Hit your head?" Tony chuckled softly, he heard Harry shift uncomfortably. "Harry… how did you get here?"

"I'm not quite sure, like I said; I hit my head." Harry remarked, Tony heard footsteps as Harry walked around the man, not speaking.

"So... What happens now?" asked Tony, unsure of whether he was dead or alive, and whether Harry was really there or if his mind was playing tricks on him.

"I think I'm allowed to offer you a deal." Harry said uncertainly, he touched the arc reactor once again and sighed.

"Okay, I'm up for a deal."

"Right, I- Umm, haven't done this before. Well, of course I've done it but not about me or the other... me." Harry mumbled as Tony raised an eyebrow; Harry had offered people deals before? Deals for their own lives? His hands clenched slightly but then he relaxed, Harry wasn't a bad guy, a little simple but he would never hurt someone without a good reason.

"The other you?" Tony said in confusion. Reminding himself quickly that this Harry was defiantly different to the one he'd known.

"When I hit my head- In truth I don't really know. It doesn't matter! I need your help to make me, me again. You need to find my body and get it to limbo." Harry snapped, Tony wasn't sure whether Harry was angry because he didn't know anymore or if he couldn't tell Tony anymore.

"Wh-What?!" Tony demanded, confused.

"The Harry that you knew, you need to find him and get him here so I can be…" Harry paused and took a deep breath. "So I can be me again." Tony thought about this for a few seconds, wondering how hard this task was and what would happen if he failed. He'd thought about trying to find Harry before now but he'd always managed to convince himself that Harry was dead.

"I'll try." Tony said softly, but wasn't Harry (or Harry's body in this case) dead? No matter if he was or not, Tony would do his best to help Harry.

"You have six months."

"What happens if I can't?" Tony whispered, but the boy didn't say a word. Harry remained silent as Tony fell into darkness.

X x X

"Why shawarma?" Bruce asked seriously, looking at the food in front of him.

"Tony suggested it." Steve nodded in Tony's direction, the billionaire was trying to match Thor, sandwich for sandwich, but his smile was wearing off. Tony hadn't spoken much over the past few hours, since his near death and their capture of Loki.

"What is wrong, Man of Iron?" Thor questioned the genius, who had finally put down his food and was sat with his eyes closed.

"Nothing, just tired." Tony mumbled, Bruce smiled softly at Tony's childish approach to life and was about to speak when Tony suddenly stood up. "Shit." He whispered loudly.

"Tony?" Steve demanded, also getting to his feet. Tony fumbled desperately, trying to find his phone.

"What's up?" Clint raised an eyebrow but Tony ignored all of them, pulling out his cell and putting it to his ear.

"Jarvis! I need your help!" Tony cried the moment his A.I. picked up.

"Of course, sir, what would you like assistance with?" He replied, easily picking up Tony's exasperated tone.

"You know-" Tony paused looking over to his team mates, finding them all watching him with wide eyes. He turned away and lowered his voice. "-the picture in my desk, the drawing?"

"Yes, sir, would you like me to copy it?" Jarvis asked, obviously not seeing where the conversation was going.

"I need you to use the SHIELD database, their eyes, to find the younger boy... I know it's not the best drawing ever but-"

"I'll do my best, sir." The computer informed him quickly; Tony sighed and ended the call.

"Are you going to tell us what's wrong?" Steve grumbled, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.

"I just... need to find someone." Tony said slowly, and uncertainty.

"An old friend?" Thor guessed, Tony smiled weakly.

"Something like that."

X x X

The raven haired teenager was sat under the tree, rain pounded down around him, bouncing off the muddy grass. His hair was plastered to his face and there were deep bags under his eyes. He couldn't remember when he last slept but then again he could never remember much. He knew from the numbers in the building he'd been in a few hours earlier that there were more than 30 days and from people trying to guess his age he knew that he wasn't 30 days old... but his memories before the last 30 or so days always seemed to fade. It was like knowing that something had to have happened before this time but never being able to know what it was. It was getting worse, he could sense it in his bone, something told him that he used to be able to remember more and something else told him that he needed to find someone but no matter how hard he tried he could never remember them fully. Only distance dreams of red and brown hair... and every now and again a blue circle of light in the darkness.

"Kid?" A man walked over to him; tall, well built, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes that seemed too old._ Kid_ was new to him; no one had called him that... recently. He had to say his name to himself so it didn't, too, get lost in the fog.

"Hello..." He greeted softly, the man pulled off his own coat and wrapped it around the boy's thin and shaking shoulders.

"Are you okay?" The man asked, the boy looked like he hadn't eaten in days. "I'm Steve... it's amazing I found you in this storm, me and a couple of my friends are looking for someone but I don't think they'd mind if I took you back and got you something to eat..." Steve held out his hand to the boy and pulled him to his feet. He was short compared to Steve and looked like nothing more than a skeleton.

"Why?" The boy whispered.

Steve smiled and said, "Because you need help and I like helping people." Steve began to pull him back to the car; the boy kept tripping over himself as they walked. His clothes hung off him and were covered in cuts and mud.

"I can't." He whispered, Steve turned to look at him as the boy tried to stop Steve pulling him.

"Why not?"

"I'll forget here." The boy stated simply.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked but before the teen could answer; Tony and Bruce appeared, walking over to them with a large _Stark _umbrella.

"Steve?" Bruce called, the soldier looked over to him and the boy followed his gaze. Green eyes locked with brown and Tony froze. The billionaire took a deep breath then ran forwards. Ignoring the pelting rain, he came to a dead stop in front of the boy.

"Harry?" Tony whispered; the boy looked him up and down, his eyes settling on Tony's arc reactor, which was showing through his soaking shirt.

"T-Tony?" Harry pause then nodded to himself. "You're Tony..."

**A.N: Ahhh fanfiction *breaths in deeply* I love the smell of it in the morning, which is annoying as the only reason I really wrote this was because I kinda broke my phone (R.I.P Gerald!). Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and please offer up any suggestions, any pairings you want (btw, if people ask for slash I'll do it really lightly because a – I'm not gonna pretend I know much about sex with the opposite gender not to mention the same and b - I'm crap at writing romance xD) and anything else you want to involved (bad guys, maybe an OC or two (either my own or yours, idk, go read my other stories ;p). Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, faved or followed :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, no pairings atm! **

**Chapter Three**

Harry stood like a statue in front of Tony; the billionaire looked like he wasn't quite sure what to say to the boy but both Bruce and Steve could see the relief in his eyes at finding his friend alive.

"Yeah, I'm Tony." He breathed quietly; his hand reached out and touched Harry's face, making sure this wasn't some horrible trick. Harry didn't cringe away but there was no recognition in his eyes, no tears of joy at seeing his old friend, just confusion and hunger.

"I know you?" Harry mumbled, finally pulling back from Tony, the older man smiled nervously and let his hand drop to his side.

"Yes, we used to be friends." Tony informed him, Harry nodded slowly. It finally dawned on Tony that Harry looked pretty much the same as he had in the caves, just thinner and smaller.

"Not recently." Tony wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question but he took it that Harry was confused.

"A long time ago now, but I found you... or Steve did." Tony grinned at the teen but the longer Harry remained standing, the paler he seemed to become.

"I'm sorry... I don't remember." Harry whispered. Tony cringed, the boy was looking more and more like a corpse, he sounded nothing like the Harry that was in the Void... That Harry was confused yet powerful, this one was just confused and weak.

When Harry looked up to Tony's face he forced a smile and said, "That's okay, to be honest I-" But before he could finish, Harry's knees gave up and he dropped to the floor; luckily Steve had never removed his arm from Harry's waist and the super soldier could easily hold the skinny boy's weight.

"Damn..." Steve mumbled, gripping tighter on Harry's waist so he didn't slip out of his grasp. Tony looked at the floor and for a moment Steve thought he might cry.

"Get him in the car." Bruce said quickly, holding the umbrella over Steve and Harry as the rain became suddenly worse. The cascade of water made the path slipping as they hurried towards the car, Steve's old, flat shoes not getting any grip on the muddy gravel, causing him to slide about.

"Tony?" Pepper flung over the door of the large 4x4 that Tony had brought for their trip and helped Steve lay Harry along the middle seats. Tony clambered into the driver's seat and turned to look at them.

"We need to get to a hospital." Bruce stated, trying to keep his calm as he checked Harry's pulse and ordered Steve to get into the back. Steve didn't bother to pull out the extra seats and just crouched in the boot of the car, looking over the seats at Harry with a deep look of concern on his face.

"Jarvis, find the nearest hospital."

X x X

"Mr Stark?" Tony barely even heard the voice as his head lolled on Pepper's shoulder; he hadn't told anyone that he hadn't slept since the battle.

"Sorry... I think he's a bit overwhelmed." Pepper admitted with a small smile. Steve and Bruce had returned to their hotel to pack their stuff up in preparation to fly back home or to move to a place closer to the hospital.

"Well, your friend, Harry, he should be okay." The doctor grinned at Pepper who, even though she'd never met Harry, let out a huge sigh of relief.

"So why did he collapse?" Tony growled, Pepper looked down to see Tony's eyes were still closed but his fists were clenched and his face had a stoney expression on it.

"He seems to be severally underweight; we need to keep him in for a few days so we can check that, that is all that's wrong with him." The doctor informed him as he flicked through Harry's notes. Tony opened his eyes and sat forwards his seat, putting his face into his hands.

"Do you have some kind of diet that he needs to stick to?" Pepper asked, wanting to get rid of the doctor quickly so that Tony could try if he wanted to. But something in the back of her mind told her he wouldn't, not even in front of her...

"Sure-"

"How about we discuss it in the hall." Pepper stood and dragged the doctor out of the private waiting room, leaving Tony alone.

X x X

"He was in a pretty bad way..." Steve noted as he folded up another one of his shirts and placed it into his suitcase.

"He should be fine, he looked like he hadn't eaten for days but when he gets back to a normal weight, and he'll be fine!" Bruce informed him, throwing his own clothes into a holdall. Steve nodded slowly and zipped his case shut, they'd already done Tony's and Pepper's so they were pretty much ready to go.

"That's good." Steve said quietly, Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"What's up?" The scientist asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking over to his teammate.

"He looked like a kid; didn't Tony say he was like 19 when he knew him?" Bruce contemplated this for a second then hummed thoughtfully.

"That makes him 20-21?" Bruce paused. "Yeah, I see what you mean." He glanced over to Steve, the super soldier was staring at himself in the mirror; taking in the muscles under his shirt and his height. Bruce remembered the photo in Steve's file of him pre-op and cringed slightly. Was Steve seeing some part of himself in Harry? A wounded soldier who wasn't found by a Stark in time to be saved...

X x X

Harry opened his eyes, blurred shaped greeted his green orbs as he tried to sit up but his limbs felt too heavy. He blinked a few times to clear away the fog and stared up at the white ceiling of the room. Wondering how he got here, he cast his mind back to the last thing he remembered; a man with blonde hair... Stew? No, Steve. Steve had brought him here?

"Steve?" Harry croaked, someone near to him jumped then came over. A man in a white coat stood over him, a small smile on his face. Harry stared at him.

"Good to see you awake, Mr...?"

"Harry." The teen grumbled, the doctor's expression turned to angry briefly before returning to a smile.

"Okay, Harry, you can go soon. I just need to take some blood, and then you can see Mr Stark." Mr Stark? Who was Mr Stark! Harry's mind whirled for a few seconds before noticing that his bed was rising into a sitting position. A woman with flaming red hair was stood on the other side of his bed.

"I'm Pepper." She offered him her hand. "A friend of Tony's." She informed him; Harry managed to grab her hand with his own and shook it slowly.

"Nice to meet yo-" Harry snapped his head to where the doctor was holding his arm with one hand and a needle with the other.

"If you tense up, it'll hurt more." The doctor said softly, sensing Harry's distress. Harry still tried to pull away, his eyes locked on the needle; something told him that he didn't like hospitals and that he'd been to a few before. A woman flashed into his mind; pale skin and brown hair, a nurse?

"It's okay, Harry, it won't hurt that much." Pepper assured him, taking his hand in her own and squeezing it reassuringly. The doctor held onto Harry's arm tightly and brought the needle close to his skin. When it was an inch away Harry snapped, he twisted his hand out of Pepper grip, shoved the doctor back and jumped out of the bed.

X x X

"Hey, Tony!" Steve greeted, sitting down beside the billionaire in the silent room. Bruce remained standing, but he kept pacing around, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I think Harry has to stay for a few days." Tony informed them quietly, not even bothering to look at either of his teammates.

"We'll find a hotel then, there are loads around here." Offered Steve, trying to get Tony back to his snarky self… even though Steve himself felt down.

"Harry!" Pepper's voice echoed down the hallway and into the room. Steve and Tony stood as Bruce pulled the door open, the flash of hospital gown and black hair that flew past the doorway made both Tony and Steve run after it.

"Hey, kid, slow down!" A nurse growled as Harry sprinted past him; the teenager skidded to a stop and looked around franticly. Steve caught up with him first, but Harry, eyes wide like a frighten rabbit's, wouldn't turn to look at him.

"Harry." Steve said calming, putting up his hands to show he meant no harm as the boy turned around.

"Steve?" He asked, tears in his eyes as the soldier stepped forwards to comfort him. Tony came to a halt besides him and Harry's eyes flickered to the billionaire.

"Oh, thank god you're okay. I thought-" Tony began but stopped himself, glancing to Steve.

"Tony." Harry whispered and walked into the older man's embrace with hesitation. Steve took a step away from the pair as Tony clutched the boy tightly.

"Come on." Said Tony sharply, pulling back from Harry so he could look his young friend in the eye. "We're going back home, I'll hire a doctor if you don't like it here." Tony smiled and turned to Steve, who (for once) had no objections.

**A.N: OMG, so many reviews and faves :D Seeing as I only posted this two days ago I think I may faint! Anyways, so couples wise, lots of people asked for slash and for the people who are reading this going "Oh I fucking hate slash, it's gay crap." A – It'll be really light and there won't be any sex scenes (if people want that I'll do a side story or something) and B – if you are homophobic, FUCK OFF. And now on with life, please note that my updates will not remain 'everyday' things, it's just because I broke my phone and have nothing better to do xD. **

**Please vote for pairings (any you want, but if anyone says "I fucking hate slash" or ANYTHING along the same lines I will tell you to fuck off :) See ya next chapter! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, T/P H/S! **

**Chapter Four**

The plane was soaring over the ocean, Tony, Steve, Bruce and Pepper were discussing quietly at one end of the plane, whilst Harry was sat by the window at the opposite end of the plane; he was staring out at the mass of blue underneath them. It surprised Tony that Harry wasn't scared of flying yet he acted like a child when faced with a needle.

"Tony!" Pepper hissed, drawing her boyfriend's attention back to her. He smiled slyly at her and took a swig of his whiskey.

"So," Steve whispered, glancing over at Harry, who now had a small smile on his face as he watched the clouds go by. "What are we going to do? If we take him to the tower then SHIELD might get wind of him."

"What does it matter if Fury knows he's there?" Asked Tony, spinning his chair childishly, Steve grabbed the leather arm and brought Tony back round to face him.

"Harry was with a terrorist group in Afghanistan, and then turns up years later in London, looking pretty much the same. You don't think that's a little odd?" Steve stated seriously, glaring at Tony, who's expression slowly turned sullen.

"Steve's right, it's lucky no one else has found him yet..." Bruce knitted his fingers together and took a deep breath.

"What is it?" Tony asked, easily guessing that Bruce wasn't saying something.

"He isn't just malnourished, he's not eaten in days, maybe weeks. Any normal person would be dead." Tony sighed and closed his eyes, trying hard not to give anything away about Harry only being half a person.

"Right, so we'll feed him up and give him a home." Tony grumbled, opening his eyes. "If it turns out he doesn't age... Well we don't know if Cap is immortal or not yet, they can keep each other company." Tony slowly managed to convince himself of his plan, smiling slightly and nodding to himself. As he was thinking through his new plan, he almost missed Steve suddenly looking out of the window, a sad look on his face. Tony's smile vanished, he couldn't blame the super soldier; who would want to live for eternity with just a half mad teenage boy to keep him company.

"We should get him some new clothes when we get back to New York." Pepper noted, pulling out her Stark Issue PDA and checking her calendar. Tony looked over to Harry again, he was in Tony's 'casual wear', a pair of jeans and a Black Sabbath t-shirt; both of which were far too big for him but they looked better on him than the rags he had been wearing the other day.

"Hey Bruce..." Tony said slowly, spinning to look at the scientist who looked like he'd just been about to drop off to sleep.

"What Tony?" He grumbled, adjusting his pillow so he could look at Tony.

"Why didn't that doctor notice that Harry hadn't eaten in days?" Both men stared at each other in silence for a few moment; Steve and Pepper watch them with interest, both looking confused.

"Crap." Bruce whispered, both of them jumped up and tried to walk casually over to Harry; trying not to alarm the boy.

"Tony?" Harry said, confusion in his voice as he turned his gaze from the window to the pair of geniuses. "And... Brian- Bruce! Sorry, I'm... not really very good with names." Harry gave Bruce and apologetic smile but as soon as Steve and Pepper also came over he start fidgeting.

"Harry..." Tony sat down beside him and looked at him very seriously. "Did the doctor give you anything? Any kind of injection or pills?" He asked, Harry shook his head.

"He was unconscious for most of the time." Pepper noted, her eyes flashing from Tony to Harry. Tony pulled out his phone and started tapping furiously.

"This won't hurt, okay." Tony held the phone over Harry's face then showed the machine his whole body. It bleeped unhappily when it got to Harry's left thigh, Steve was the only one who looked confusion now as Bruce and Pepper knew what it was.

"They injected a tracking chip into him?" Pepper breathed, Tony nodded and frowned at his phone.

"You can't cut it out of him here." Bruce stated slowly, Harry swallowed, getting paler and paler by each second. The teen grabbed his thigh and pulled his leg close to his body, Tony phone beeped again.

"It's gone." He informed them, Steve raised an eyebrow, still not completely with it.

"How can it just be gone?" Bruce asked as Tony put his phone over Harry's leg once again. The phone didn't make any noises this time and Tony shook his head uncertainly.

"Your tech must be malfunctioning." Steve guessed, he sat down opposite Harry and smiled softly at the teen, who smiled back then hid his face behind his leg but not before Steve saw the slight pink in his cheeks.

"Nope," Tony said quickly. "It's defiantly gone." All four of them turned to Harry, who had just managed to get rid of his blush. The teen looked up at them, his eyes bemused by their sudden interest in him.

"Did you do something to the tracker, Harry?" Bruce asked as if he was talking to a child, Harry looked at the floor and pulled his other leg up.

"Maybe..." Harry mumbled, so quietly that they almost missed it.

X x X

Not matter how hard Tony tried, he couldn't convince Bruce to be Harry's doctor, the scientist had argued that it wasn't really his field.

"But you were a doctor when you were on the run!" Tony argued as they drove through the streets of New York City in his limo.

Bruce glared at him then said, "Harry needs a proper doctor." And that was the end of it. Harry seemed to be completely amazed by the city, and Steve, who was sat beside the teen, remembered when he'd first seen how large the city had grown. It was a hard thing to get your head around when you'd never seen a city of this size before, sure Harry had been hiding out in London but Steve had no doubt that he'd just been in the park they'd found him in.

"You like it?" Tony asked Harry, the teen nodded then paused, staring at the floor of the car as it trying to remember something.

"It's huge." Harry mumbled, but his mind seemed to be on something else. Steve looked at the teen, knowing that Harry wouldn't look up at him; they'd given him loads to eat on the plane (which he'd thankfully kept down) and a small amount of colour was returning to his face. Steve had also noticed that his eyes seemed brighter, less afraid.

"Well, from the tower you can see it a lot better." Tony informed Harry with a grin. Steve watched Tony suspiciously, it seemed odd to Steve that Tony had suddenly taken such an interest in finding Harry; he understood that the man had had a near death experience but the way Tony was acting wasn't right. He seemed more relieved than happy about the fact that Harry was with them and kept typing things into his phone, then frowning when it started flashing red.

X x X

Tony was right about the view of course, Harry was currently stood in the lounge, his hands pressed to the glass as he looked in awe at the city.

"We'll order in." Tony stated, dialling a number on his phone and walking out of the room.

"When are Natasha and Clint supposed to be getting back?" Bruce asked, sitting down in a leather armchair and pulling out a sleek black tablet.

"Tomorrow I think." Steve told him, the super soldier didn't sit down, he was stood a few feet away from Harry but by the way he was tense one would think that there wasn't any glass in the window and Harry was one step from falling to his death.

"Do they live here too?" asked Harry, turning to the pair. Bruce looked up and nodded.

"Yes but they had... important jobs, so they aren't here much." The scientist informed him.

"Oh... ok." Harry looked back out of the window and Bruce turned to look at Steve with a sceptical look on his face. Taking the hint, Steve finally sat down on the couch and sighed, letting his head rest on the top on the chair and fell to sleep.

**A.N: Sorry about my last author's note… I absolute hate homophobic people because one of my friends was bullied a lot :( Anyway -most people said I could do whatever pairings I like so I kinda made it obvious which I'm doing in this chapter, things may change when Harry becomes proper Harry (as the cannon is with Ginny) but idk yet :P Plus I love Pepperony! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, T/P H/S! **

**Chapter Five**

Harry was sat next to Steve's chair, the super soldier had been asleep for four hours now and no matter how bored Harry was he couldn't bring himself to wake his new friend up. It was getting a bit chilly as night set it, Harry didn't know how to close the windows and Bruce had disappeared to his lab leaving Harry alone with Steve. Harry's terrible memory failed to inform him of the last time he'd slept near another person, it also failed to tell him if it was safe to go to sleep with a stranger near him; his instincts told him to hide somewhere and go to sleep but his rational mind said that Steve wouldn't harm him. Harry pushed himself to his feet and stared at the area next to Steve on the sofa, he slowly sat down, trying not to let it move too much so he wouldn't wake Steve.

"Stark?" Steve mumbled, his head shifting as if he wasn't having a very nice dream. Harry curled up next to him and cautiously put his head on Steve's lap, he shifted so he was in the position least able to wake Steve up and fell to sleep.

X x X

Tony was sat in his lab, Bruce was tinkering with a tablet in the corner, and working on some kind of... well Tony hadn't asked what it was so he didn't know. He was too busy watching the living room; Harry looked very small with his head on Steve's thigh but also rather happy.

"They seem to be getting on well." Bruce noted, Tony smiled and raised his eyebrows suggestively at Bruce who just sighed in response.

"Oh come on, it's the twenty first century, maybe they could get together or something." Tony remarked zooming in on Harry, now sleeping, face; a small smile had formed on his lips and he seemed a lot more peaceful.

"Yes but have you not remembered that Cap is from the twentieth and Harry isn't completely mentally... sound." Bruce stated, using the word sound as if he wasn't aware of any other word that would fit him at this current time.

"I guess," Tony grumbled before pulling up another window on his pc that informed him that his scan of Harry was 78% done. "You got any ideas?" The question seemed to catch Bruce off guard and he had to pause for a moment to think about it.

"No, not at this moment but maybe he's like me." Bruce trailed off, not wanted to say another but Tony gave him a very serious look. "Well you said that you met him in a war zone, maybe someone was trying to remake Cap's serum and was testing it on Harry?"

"Scan complete." Jarvis informed them, making both of the men jump. "Would you like the results now or in private, sir?"

"Now." Tony replied quickly, a new window opened showing the results of the scan.

"It appears, sir, that other than very underweight, there is nothing wrong with Harry." Jarvis admitted, sounding quite down that he hadn't found anything.

"But then how can he be alive?" Bruce asked.

"I'm afraid I am unaware," Jarvis paused. "The only other thing I noticed is that Harry seems to change eye colour." Both of the genius stared at the computer, waiting it to say more but after a few moments waiting they managed to guess that he needed a prompt.

"What do you mean?" Tony demanded, getting impatient. Why would Jarvis not want to give Tony the information?

"When you first got back his eyes were a very dark green but over the past few hours they have been gradually getting brighter." Jarvis stated, bringing up images of Harry's eyes over the few hours he'd been there. It was true; Harry's eyes had gone from Cal Poly to Forest Green.

"Maybe the safer he feels the more power he starts to show or something." Tony suggested.

"You think he has powers?"

"Well he wasn't exactly Mr Muscles when he escapes from those terrorists and he's been living with no food!" Tony looked Bruce straight in the eyes. "He's not normal." Tony thought for a terrifying second that he'd given everything away, that he'd given away that he knew that Harry wasn't a normal teenager but Bruce just stared back for a second before nodding.

X x X

Steve opened his eyes, he wanted to go back to sleep but he knew that if he slept any longer he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He was just about to stand up when something moved on his leg, his blue eyes darted downwards to find a mop of black hair on his thigh.

"Harry?" He whispered, testing if the boy was awake. When the teen didn't move Steve sighed and forced himself to relax; from the new temperature of the room he guessed that Harry must of gotten cold and cuddled up to the nearest source of heat. Steve glanced at his watch to find it was 11:09 and let his eyes slide shut again; he may as well just go back to sleep where he was and then get up when Harry did and head to the gym. Harry shifted in his sleep so Steve could see his face, he looked a lot better than earlier... but something was off, Harry didn't look as skinny as before. Steve knew that a few large meals should not have made such a big difference, Harry's bones weren't quite as prominent as before and his face wasn't as sunken. Harry opened his eyes and stared back at him, Steve froze, wondering if Harry was really awake or if he was just randomly opening his eyes. But the boy sat up and pulled away from him.

"'m sorry..." He mumbled, trying to flatten his hair. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry for what?" He asked, confused.

"For sleeping on you, I just..." Harry trailed off, fidgeting nervously. Steve couldn't help but smile at the boy's innocents and stood up to stretch.

"It's fine, come on, we'll find your room." Harry nodded eagerly and stood up, only to sit back down again the moment a disembodied voice started talking.

"Mr Stark would like me to inform you that Harry will be staying in the guest room next to your room, Mr Rodgers." Jarvis informed them. Steve smiled at Harry and offered him a hand, pulling him back to a standing position. They walked down the hall back to Steve's room, Harry noticed the room next to it; it was very plain, black sheets, cream walls and carpet. The size of his bed seemed to stun Harry but then he frowned and turned to look at Steve.

"Yours is better." Harry mumbled, Steve smiled and glanced back over to his room; Stark had done it for him, it wasn't perfect but he liked it. It was old fashioned with as little tech as was possible at the moment; Tony planned to wean him onto it.

"I'm sure Tony will let you personalise your room if you ask him nicely." Steve joked; Harry nodded quickly and walked into his room. He sat down on the bed awkwardly and looked up at Steve.

"I... umm, good night." Harry stuttered, Steve wondered why he was so nervous but turned back to his own room anyway.

"Night Harry."

**A.N: So… tired D: didn't get to sleep till 5am :( the moment I go – "Okay, I am going to sleep loads tonight." My brain goes. "Sure you're tired, but don't you want to stay away and think about the wonders of where you could go with your fanfic." Really sorry this is such a short chapter, I really am but my brain hurts and I already updated one of my other fanfics today D: See you next chappy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, T/P H/S! **

**Chapter Six**

Harry was lying in bed, his bright green eyes almost like a cat's in the darkness. He could hear Steve's turning in his sleep across the hall and couldn't help but worry that his new friend was having a nightmare. He must have been listening to Steve for at least three hours from what the clock next to his bed said. The dark haired boy sat up and ran a hand through his messy locks; his tangle of hair had become slightly out of hand, something told him that if he tried to brush it the comb would be lost forever. Steve grumbled in his sleep, Harry jumped and gripped the side of his bed. He swallowed and stood slowly, he could see well enough in the room to not walk into the bedside table and manage to get to his door.

"Steve?" he asked, his voice echoing into the corridor. He pulled open his door fully and stepped into the dark passageway; stone walls rose above him, a lot taller than the walls of his room had been. The teen stumbled backwards, trying to go back into his room but the door had vanished. Without Steve's constant mumbles and yells it felt to Harry like he'd suddenly gone deaf.

"Harry?" An old man appeared to Harry's left, his face half hidden in shadow but the green eyed boy could make out a long silver bread and some kind of blue... robes?

"I... must of gone the wrong- Where am I?" Harry's heart was starting to bang against his chest in a frantic manner.

"No, I don't think you did." The old man walked in front of one of the many windows that lined the hall and Harry knew, somewhere in the back of mind, that he and the man had met before. "And for where you are, you are at a place that you once called home-" Harry opened his mouth to speak but the man raised a finger in silence. "-But I believe that you haven't been here in a long time." The old man smiled but his eyes were sad.

"So... you don't- I mean, you haven't seen me in a while?" Harry asked quietly, the man sighed and turned to look out of the window. As he didn't speak, Harry walked forwards cautiously and stood a meter or so away from him, also staring out of the window.

"I'm afraid, my boy, that I haven't seen many people of recent, though the last time I saw you was a dark day. A day of war and loss." Harry looked at the floor, feeling his heart pang at the forgotten memory, as if (even though his mind couldn't remember) his body was still in pain.

"Who are you?" Harry queried, suddenly realising that it hadn't accorded to him to ask.

"An old friend." Harry was about to demand his name when the path beneath him disappeared and he dropped into darkness.

X x X

Steve rubbed his eyes and sat up, he often had nightmares but they were easy to overcome, he knew he safe and with friends. He stood up and pulled on a shirt before opening his door and walking out into the wall. His foot caught something and he toppled over, landing on top of Harry, who was currently sprawled on the floor.

"Harry?!" Steve grunted, pulling himself off the much smaller boy and shaking him gently. The teen opened his eyes and blinked a few times, in the half light of the hallway Steve could see that Harry's eyes were practically glowing.

"Steve?" Harry mumbled, trying to sit put but stopping and clutching his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Steve demanded, although it was obvious that the boy wasn't; there was cold sweat on his face and his skin was a sickly shade of green, though Steve wasn't quite sure how much of that was because of his eyes.

"Head hurts." Harry whispered. Steve nodded, looped his arm under Harry's and pulled him to his feet.

"Jarvis," Steve called, the lights all flashed on and Harry cringed. "Call Dr Banner, tell him to get here quick."

"Of course, Sir." Steve let out a small sigh of relief at the A.I's response, he then helped Harry walk down into the living room and set the pale teen down, gently, on the sofa.

"Steve..." Harry gripped the man's shirt as he tried to pull away.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Steve tried to unhook Harry's fingers from him but the boy wouldn't release him.

"There was a- a man and-" Harry paused, seemed to realize he was half strangling Steve and released him. "I knew him, and he knew me but he said that he hadn't seen me in a long time." Harry informed him, Steve nodded and took a deep breath; Harry had dreamt about his past? It might be that man that had been with Tony and him in Afghanistan.

"Steve?" Bruce and Tony appeared in the lift before Steve could say anything more to Harry.

"I found him on the floor outside my room, he was asleep." Steve stated, moving aside as Bruce crouched in front of Harry and began shining a torch into his eyes.

"Is it just me or are his eyes glowing?" Tony remarked, raising his eyebrows. Bruce nodded slowly, turning off the torch and cupping his own hands around Harry's eyes; the boy looked taken aback but didn't complain.

"Like when you're going to change?" Steve asked, his eyes darting from Harry to Bruce and back again.

"No... His pulse seems fine. Though that would explain how he managed to escape from the Ten Rings." Bruce noted, sitting down on the sofa next to Harry. Steve watched for a few minutes in silence as the teen's eyes stopped glowing, returning to their normal deep green.

"What's the Ten Rings?" Harry queried, both Steve and Bruce looked over to Tony.

"They were a group of bad people who tried to hurt me, you were there... You worked for them." Tony said softly. Harry looked at the floor; the others could see these words running through his mind.

"Did I- Did I hurt you?" Even though Harry seemed a lot like a child, his voice seemed to be darker than normal; full of hatred.

"No... Actually you helped me escape." Tony offered him a smile and sat down on his other side, leaving Steve as the only one standing.

"I keep forgetting." Harry admitted softly, looking once again at the floor.

"Forgetting what?" asked Bruce, his voice was caring and gentle, like someone trying to coax an injured animal out of danger.

"Everything, I only remember what I did in the last 30 or so days." Tony suddenly stood and walked over to the window.

"So... you really are broken." He mumbled to himself but Steve, with his enhanced hearing, looked over at him.

"What did you say Stark?" The solider demanded. Tony looked over his shoulder at him, easily making an excuse for his odd behaviour.

"In the caves, Harry didn't seem like he was all there. I guess he's gone downhill since he escaped." But Steve didn't look convinced.

"I saw a man in my dreams." Harry said quickly, easily sensing the tension between the two men and trying to change the subject.

"Really?" Bruce asked, seeing Harry's plan and going along with it. "Who was he?"

"I'm not sure, but I knew him..." Harry closed his eyes, picking the man again before reopening them and shaking his head.

"I'm sure you'll be able to remember soon," Bruce assured him. "Do you have any ideas?"

"About who he could be?" Bruce nodded. "I guess, he kind of reminded me of a teacher... or a grandfather..." Harry's expression set in a very certain look. "I know that he was someone I once trusted with my life!"

**A.N: I'm afraid I am leaving for a few days for a "Family Holiday" (whoo :|…) So I just thought I'd update and inform you so you don't get mad when I don't update :( Cya soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Idea - During his stay in the caves, Tony met a young soldier called Harry. Over the next few years Tony forgot about Harry's existence until Loki attacks and Death offers him a deal - save Harry from the darkness he's fallen into and gets him back to his own world. But the space between dimensions is complex and even Thor doesn't know how to help. All Avengers, T/P H/S! **

**Chapter Seven**

Steve took a long sip of his coffee and watched Harry intently, the teen was sat on a bar stool at the kitchen island. Tony had managed to convince Bruce to cook them all some breakfast seeing as the doctor had argued against ordering Chinese this early in the day.

"How do you like your eggs Harry?" Bruce queried. Harry blinked a few times before shrugging and looking over to Tony.

"Just scramble some; I'm sure he'll eat them." The billionaire noted, not looking up from his phone as he waved his hand dismissively in Bruce's general direction.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry innocently, leaning over to look at Tony's bleeping cell. Tony turned off the screen and slammed it down on the table so quickly that Harry jumped and toppled off his chair. Steve stood quickly and walked over to help Harry up; Harry himself seemed a bit confused but didn't say anything as he sat back down on his stool.

Steve quickly checked Harry over but as he looked at the boy's eyes he found them already staring into his, Steve turned away so he was facing the wall. Harry's bright green eyes seemed to bury themselves into his soul, far too deep than they should of been.

"You alright?" Tony asked Harry, the boy nodded quickly then turned away and took a sip of his drink nervously. Steve glanced back over to Harry; he wondered why the raven haired boy made him feel... Steve closed his eyes and shook his head quickly.

"Fine." Harry said quietly, Tony smiled apologetically and looked over to Bruce, not noticing Steve standing awkwardly a few feet away.

"Done yet?" He asked, giving Bruce his puppy eyes.

"No. Be patient." Replied the doctor, he was giving Tony a look that told the billionaire he knew he was hiding something but Tony just smiled. Harry looked between the two of them then back over to Steve who seemed as clueless as the teen felt but wouldn't meet Harry's eyes.

"I'm going to go..." Steve paused for a second, racking his brain for a reason to leave. "To the gym." And with that, the super soldier disappeared down the hallway.

"What's up with him?" Tony remarked, downing his remaining coffee. He'd suggested that they give Harry coffee but Bruce had said that it wasn't a good idea while he was still under weight.

"I don't know..." Bruce admitted. "Seeing as I'm pretty sure Harry won't understand anyway," He paused and looked over to Harry, who was staring into his mug, his eyes slightly unfocused. "what were you doing on your phone?" Tony froze; he lowered his gaze to the marble island and stared at it for a long time.

"He was trying to fix me." Harry informed him, he was moved his mug in a circle nervously as both men turned to look at him.

"What do you mean 'fix you'?" Bruce said gently, spooning the eggs on the three plates and shoving one towards Tony whilst placing the second in front of Harry. His eyes had softened a lot as he took his seat opposite Harry.

"I'm-" Harry stopped, not sure how best to explain something he himself didn't really understand.

"Look, Bruce..." Tony began, causing the others to look over to him. "If you promise not to tell anyone then I'll tell you everything I know." Tony's voice was more serious than Bruce had ever heard it.

"Of course, but what's with all the secrecy?" Tony shushed him and looked around the room cautiously.

"Jarvis, turn off all recording devices in this room."

"Video and audio, sir?" The computer replied.

"Yeah." They waited until Jarvis confirmed that the area was secure then took a deep breath. "When I fell through the portal I died but in 'The Void', or whatever you want to call it, Harry's soul... Kind of... Came and found me and gave me a deal - I find his body and reunite them then I get my life back." The words tumbled out of Tony's mouth so quickly that Bruce blinked a few times; rerunning the information inside his head a few times before he nodded.

"Right, so you need to get Harry to the Void?" Bruce raised an eyebrow but he believed Tony, there was no doubt in his mind that Tony was telling the truth.

"I think so, or open a portal to the Void and let Mind Harry come through." Tony said, shrugging and eating a forkful of eggs that had gone cold after their 5 minute conversation.

"So that's what's wrong with him?" Bruce looked over to the teen; he was watching the two scientists quietly. "This is just his body..."

"No, I don't think so." Bruce gave him a questioning look. "A body without a soul is just shell, right?"

"I guess so."

"But Harry isn't a shell, so my hypothesis is that this Harry has either managed to hang on to a little bit of his soul and has built on it or-" Tony paused again, he wasn't quite sure how far he could go with this before sounding completely insane.

"He made himself one?" Bruce guessed, Tony nodded, thankful that he didn't have to say it out loud.

"That's what I think; the Harry I met was completely different to ours." Harry still hadn't spoken so Tony looked over to him; he had a kind of misty look in his eyes as he stared at his eyes.

"Harry." Harry's eyes snapped up to Bruce's. "Eat your food before it goes cold." As Harry picked up his fork and began to eat, Tony couldn't miss the small smile that crept onto Bruce's face. Tony figured that Bruce had never had a chance to have kids but the physicist had probably wanted some and maybe, just maybe, Harry was filling a little bit of the void left by the Hulk.

X x X

Steve pounded the punching bag, he was thinking about Peggy, the fact that he'd just left... He had always wondered, since waking up, if she'd fallen in love with someone else and had any children. Something else was bugging him today, when he'd looked into Harry's else he'd felt something he hadn't felt in a long time; for the past few days he'd been convincing himself it was a brotherly feeling but...

He closed his eyes tight and leant his head onto the bag. Had he ever loved Peggy? Did he love Harry? His head hurt too much as he thought about it, for some reason his brain couldn't tell the difference between brotherly love and... love.

"Hey Steve." Clint called, Steve didn't jump but he did look up so suddenly his neck cracked. The archer had just placed his bow into his holder and was removing his jacket.

"You're back." Steve forced a smile as Clint grabbed his towel and made his way over to the showers.

"We got back a few hours ago, Nat went straight to bed but I haven't done any training for a while." He smiled and shrugged, Steve could see the bags under his eyes and wondered how to mission had gone but didn't push it.

"Ah, I didn't notice you." The soldier admitted, smiling apologetically.

"I was in the range so it would have been pretty hard for you to. Unless you somehow got x-ray vision." Steve picked up his own towel and disappeared into the stall next to Clint. Washing the tiny amount of sweat off his body made him feel better; it had always amazed him how much he could do without sweating.

"You look..."

"Rough?" Clint guessed.

"Yeah, are you alright?" asked Steve kindly; he had become increasingly worried about his teammates the closer he got to them.

"I'm fine, just tired... You seem a bit off today though." Clint didn't ask directly but Steve guessed that the arched must have been watching him for a few moments before letting his presence be known in the gym. He knew that he couldn't have to answer if he didn't want to but he had to say something.

"I- I don't know. I'm not sure but I think I like someone..." He trailed off.

"Like like?" Steve made an agreeing noise in his throat. "Who is it?" Steve remained silent. "Is she a member of SHEILD?"

"_She_." Steve noted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. It took Clint a few seconds to think this over.

"It's a guy?" Of course that was why Steve was so upset! Clint had originally thought that Steve was torn because he still loved Peggy but then again, Steve had come from an era where being gay was one of the worse things possible and here he was telling Clint that he liked a guy but didn't know what to do.

"You won't tell anyone?"

"Of course not, but are you sure that you like him?" Clint didn't want to make Steve feel worse but he had reminded himself that Steve was a lot younger than he looked.

"I don't know." Clint couldn't see Steve but his voice wobbled and he was sure that the soldier was shaking; why was he so upset?

**A.N: Man, I really don't like family trips :| **

**Anyway so – in this story, Harry was born in 1981 but he looks like 18-19 (but not right now as he is still really underweight), Steve is 21 (not sure how old he actually is in the film but this is how old he is atm :P). I'm not sure how old Bruce is but he seems like the kind of person who'd want a kid xD IDK See ya next chapter!**


	8. Important!

Hello! Sorry this isn't a chapter :(

Due to me being back at school I can no longer continue this fanfic (well I could but the updates would be so few and far between that I feel it'd be unfair on you guys)… So! I'm putting this (and all my other fanfics) up for adoption! Please PM me or review if you are interested, if multiple people want them then I'll read a bit of your work and choose whoevers writing style seems best for the story.

Lots of love,

Hannah McTiny xx


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